


Birdie Free Your Head from that Hole

by Cloudbustings



Series: Queen Rachel [2]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Bravery, Coming Out, Fem Richie, Fluff, Gen, Nervousness, Rachel has a college aged sister, Trans Female Character, lesbian reddie, loving family, trans girl richie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25196425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudbustings/pseuds/Cloudbustings
Summary: Rachel decides to come out to her parents with encouragement from her friends
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: Queen Rachel [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789450
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	Birdie Free Your Head from that Hole

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Hi guys! The last time I published in this story collection I said I’m a cis female. Not correct! I was trying to deny being transmac because I didn’t want to be. Doesn’t mean I understand what it’s like to be a trans woman specifically, though. So if you’re a trans woman reading this story as it progresses and anything about how I write Rachel bothers you, feel free to talk to me in the comments or talk to me about it on my twitter dms at scribblethang or my Instagram dms at Scribblething :) I aspire to tell stories as accurate and respectful as I can

Soil and bits of trapped gravel skittered out from the soles of her navy blue slip on sneakers. It tracked all over the cold tile floor of the back doorway as Rachel wandered inside her family home. The open windows let in a refreshing breeze to combat the heat from the summer sun, and she could see her parents sitting on the sofa in the living room in front of her, each fanning themselves with newspapers, touching each other just enough to satisfy a desire to cuddle that they couldn’t fully pursue. 

Just before her shoe hit the carpet her mother spoke up without opening her eyes. “Take off your shoes before you go anywhere inside. I’m not cleaning up the mess myself.” she ordered. Rachel leaned on one hand against the wall and slipped off her shoes before she turned around and tossed her shoes into a pile next to her parent’s neatly placed ones by the doormat. 

_ “Properly.”  _ her mother warned. Rachel rolled her eyes but obeyed, picking them up gingerly by the heel and placing them besides her father’s shoes. They were almost as big as his. She grimaced at the thought and walked away. 

On her way to the staircase she did a swerve and spared a pat on the cheek for each of her parents as she speed-walked by, leaving small smiles on their faces. Maggie opened her eyes and turned around to watch her go with a smile as the sound of her quick and heavy footsteps bounding up the stairs began.

Anxiety pooled in the bottom of Rachel’s gut as she pushed open the door to her bedroom and stepped inside. She made a beeline for her closet, thinking about what Bill had said.

_ “You’ve got to do it. If I were you, living with your parents, I’d do it.”  _ she heard his voice in her head. __

_ “It’s like ripping off a bandaid. And the sooner you tell them, the sooner things will start to change. Possibly for the better.” Beverly soothed after. _

She tore off her shirt and let her shorts fall to the floor, tugging on a jean skirt and a pink tank top, both of which were items stolen from her sister’s room. They weren't exactly the kind of clothing she would have picked out for herself, but the intent was to help get her point across. She headed over to a full-body mirror next to her bedside table and tied her long curls into a ponytail with the plastic spiral hair tie she found on the kitchen table a few weeks ago that must have been her mother’s before she claimed it for her own. 

Looking sufficiently dressed, she zipped into the bathroom and stared contemplatively at the safety razor sitting in her utensil holder on the countertop. On one hand, she might look strange with her extremely hairy legs exposed. On the other, if this backfires she’ll feel awkward having very soft and hairless legs for the weeks until it grows back, and she can’t wear jeans to hide her legs from people who might see them and ask her about it. God forbid she sees Bowers around town with her legs shaved…

Well, in her mind it’s settled then. She turns off the bathroom light and walks out to stand at the top of the stairs. Standing on the precipice of something  _ big,  _ something  _ scary,  _ something  _ new,  _ she thought of her friend Edith.

_ You always say I’m braver than I think I am—you taught me that. You taught me where to draw my bravery from. You’re brave too, Rachel.  _ she had said.  _ You’re brave enough to do what you have to, smart enough to know how to handle whatever happens, and strong enough to know you’re in the right no matter what anyone says.  _

Rachel walked slowly down the stairs, one step at a time, feeling like she was heading into the Supreme Court to be judged innocent or guilty. She got to the bottom step and looked at the backs of her parent’s heads.

_ “Plus, erm, you look really nice in that skirt.”  _ she heard Edith say in her mind. With a tremble in her voice, Rachel began to speak.

“Hey, guys?” 

“Hm?” her parents shared twin curious noises as they turned around to face her. 

She walked closer to the sofa and studied their reactions as she walked around the sofa from the back to the front and stood in front of them. Wentworth glanced from his daughter to his wife with an unvoiced question in his eyes, but when he looked he saw the same expression of confusion reflected on his wife’s face. They both turned back to Rachel.

“Tina? I thought we sent you off to college, when did you get back?” her Father said in jest, noting the distinct resemblance Rachel and her older sister shared. Normally, she might have laughed at that. But now she only smiled nervously and hunched her broad shoulders up towards her neck uncomfortably. 

“Ha ha, dad. You know who I am.” she said. 

“Um.” Maggie said quietly. “Do we?” she asked, opening up a space for her to speak her mind. Rachel was silent for a few beats, her mouth open, poised to speak. But for once, the Trashmouth was speechless.

“Honey?” her mother tried again.

“S-so, I’m a…I’m a girl.” she began, heart thudding painfully inside her chest. “As you can see.” she gestured to herself. “And I uh, just thought I’d let you know...that I, um, don’t really, Uh, don’t really appreciate it when you call me Richie. As that is a name for a boy...and I am not one. Of those. You see.” she finished off in a British accent. Her eyes were trained firmly on the carpet, her whole body was flushed, and her hands tucked under her armpits while she curled in on herself like a shrinky dink.

The silence was the absolute  _ worst,  _ especially coming from  _ her  _ parents. Usually they’re only a few decibels quieter than  _ she  _ is, but now the entire family is wordless and static. 

“So you’re a girl?” Maggie asked. 

“Mhm.” Rachel nodded stiffly.

“And you’re sure?” 

“Yeah.” she nodded again.

And then, Maggie smiled. Without opening her mouth to speak, instead she opened her arms to receive her daughter into her loving embrace. Relief sent Rachel careening into her mother’s lap with her nose buried into flush into her hair.

“ _ Wonderful _ . That’s wonderful.” her mother gushed, rocking her from side to side. “I love you, and I could never ask you to change. I’m glad that you told us.” Maggie’s words and Rachel’s relief brought hot tears to the corners of her eyes. Her father’s pointer finger tapped her on the shoulder, and so she pulled her head out to face him from where it was hidden behind her mother’s neck.

“Hey, I’m glad too.” he smiled, the corners of his old eyes wrinkling where he had crows feet. She flashed a happy smile at him and turned back into her mother’s neck. Maggie stroked gently the back of her head, careful not to entangle her thin fingers in her daughter’s curls. They stayed like that for a little while, basking in each other's company, until the sweat made their skin sticky and mother and daughter had to separate.

Rachel’s parents sat her in between them on the sofa, and Maggie began to tug at the hair tie holding up the ponytail on the back of Rachel’s head. 

“Hey, is this mine?” she asked with the typical teasing tone of a mother.

“You’re already breaking into your mother and sister’s things?” Wentworth joined in.

“I wouldn’t use anyone else’s if I had my own.” Rachel retorted. Her mother shrugged and gently pulled the tie out from her hair, rolling it up her wrist. She began to finger comb her black curls to break them apart from the stiff hourglass clump that had formed where the tie had sat. 

“And please, I’ve already been doing that for ages. How do you think I even figured out I’m a girl?” she smiled slyly. Her comment earned her a thwap on the arm from her mom.

“Stay out of my things, you.” Maggie said in a warning tone. She fell quiet and continued to comb through her hair while Wentworth lay back fanning himself quietly.

“I suppose we’ll need to go through your sisters old stuff to find some new clothes for you, huh?” Maggie said. “Something to fit the new you.” 

Inside her mind Rachel thought  _ I think I’ve always sort of known who I am _ , but bit back the words when they threatened to escape and nodded in agreement. “She’s a little more Barbie than I am but we can probably find something.” she said instead and her parents chuckled.

“D’you have a girl name picked out?” her father spoke up. Rachel nodded, her eyes closed as she basked in the feeling of her mother’s fingers against her scalp.

“Yeah…” she said quietly. “I’ve been calling myself Rachel in my head for a while now.” 

“You had a name that lent itself well, huh.” Wentworth commented. At this Rachel laughed.

“I didn’t have to try too hard I guess.” she smiled. 

“Look at you. My little girl is just a natural at everything, huh?” Maggie teased.

“Is that a note of sarcasm I detect, mother mine?” Rachel said in a faux posh accent, “Well, no matter. The words you said still ring true.” she finished snootily and her mother kissed the side of her head.

“Yes, I guess it is kind of true.” Maggie admitted quietly. The family settled into a comfortable silence that evening, graciously fanning each other with thin magazines and folded paper fans and Rachel fell asleep resting her head on her mother’s shoulder, lulled into restfulness by the warmth of their love and the summer heat.

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter — scribblethang  
> Instagram — scribblething  
> Tumblr — thatfreyja
> 
> I wish coming out was always as nice as in this story :(


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